


Open Our True Hearts to One Another

by TheRev28



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: Ayumu grew up with casual physical contact, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, One-Sided Relationship, Pining, Setsuna is a touch starved dork, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, put the two together and you get Setsuna losing her mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRev28/pseuds/TheRev28
Summary: Setsuna just wanted to catch up on her new favorite anime in peace. So how did she end up sleeping over at Ayumu's? And why is there only one bed?
Relationships: Uehara Ayumu/Yuki Setsuna
Comments: 20
Kudos: 76





	Open Our True Hearts to One Another

**Author's Note:**

> I've noticed that the SetsuAyu tag here on AO3 was quite literally empty, so I've decided to populate it myself. Why must I be cursed to ship rare pairs in a "small" fandom? I fully blame myon for her adorable comic. Hopefully now that the anime has started, more people will see the light that is SetsuAyu.

Setsuna looked around the club room one last time, just to make sure it was empty. It had been empty when she checked 15 minutes ago. And again 5 minutes ago, but she just had to make sure. Finally confident that everyone had  _ actually _ gone home for the weekend, she pulled her laptop out of her bag and put it on the table.

It only took her a few moments to navigate to her go-to anime streaming site and pull up the next episode of  _ Verdant Wind _ . It was premiering the 22nd and final episode late that night, but Setsuna had only just discovered the series earlier in the week. 

As such, she had binged up to episode 16 in just a few days. She planned to watch the final five episodes needed to catch up, then tape the finale to watch after school on Monday. She had already made an excuse to her parents about coming home late, so she figured she had time.

Ten minutes later, and Setsuna had already tuned out the world besides the show. One of the climactic moments was about to start, where the three former friends met on the field of battle, each leading an army in a horrific callback to their days at the academy.

_ “Kill every last one of them!” _

Setsuna squealed at how cool yet terrifying the delivery of that line was.

“Oh, I loved that line, too!”

This time, Setsuna screamed at the unexpected voice behind her. She almost fell off her chair trying to turn around, but a pair of warm, soft hands grabbed her own, keeping her upright. Eyes wide, she followed those hands up the arms, finally settling on Ayumu’s currently-distraught face.

“Ayumu?! When did you get here?!” Setsuna said. “I thought you left a while ago!”

“I forgot my phone in here but didn’t realize it until I tried getting on the train,” she said, as if that made perfect sense. Ok, well it did make perfect sense, but that didn’t make Setsuna any happier about it! “When I got back, I saw you watching  _ Verdant Wind _ , and I really enjoyed this episode, so I wanted to watch it again! But I also didn’t want to disturb you.”

Setsuna’s eyes widened. Had she heard that right? “Wait… you watch  _ Verdant Wind _ ?”

“Yuu and I read the manga together a few years ago,” Ayumu said. “Even though I don't watch much anime anymore, I was so excited when it got an adaptation!”

“There’s a  _ manga _ ?!” Setsuna said. She wanted to face palm for not even considering that possibility, only to realize Ayumu still held her hands. Feeling her face heat up a little, Setsuna finally took them back. Ayumu’s smile didn’t change.

“So are you trying to catch up before the finale tonight? Are you excited to watch it?”

“I’m  _ so _ excited, but I won’t be able to watch it until Monday,” Setsuna said, unable to keep some of the disappointment out of her voice.

“Oh no! How come?” Ayumu asked, sounding genuinely distraught at Setsuna’s predicament. 

“My… my parents don’t allow anime or manga in the house,” Setsuna said, looking down at the table. Even though Yuu already knew, it was still embarrassing to admit to someone else. Especially Ayumu. 

“That’s terrible! Hmmm.” 

Setsuna looked up to see Ayumu’s brows furrowed in thought. After a brief moment, she let out a little gasp and looked back up, treating Setsuna to an excited smile.

“I just had an idea!” Ayumu said. “What if you came over to my place, and we could watch it together!”

Go to? Ayumu’s? And watch anime? Together? Setsuna blinked a few times. There was no way she heard that correctly, right? But there was Ayumu, her eyes shining and her smile looking so dazzling.

“B-but, it’ll be on so late…,” Setsuna mumbled.

“Then we can make it a sleepover!”

A… a sleep… a sleepover…? With? With Ayumu? In Ayumu’s home? Sleeping with Ayumu— _ wait no not like that _ .

Setsuna's face lit up with a furious blush as she mumbled again, "I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Oh it wouldn't be a bother at all! Plus, I've been thinking lately how I wanted to spend more time with you."

Ayumu's smile was radiant. Any other formality Setsuna could have said died in the face of such a smile. 

"Ok," Setsuna breathed, unable to believe this was actually happening.

“Yay!” Ayumu cheered, doing a little clap. Then she reached out and grabbed Setsuna’s hands, holding them tight. “This is going to be so fun! We should still have plenty of time to catch you up before the finale airs.”

This was all too much for Setsuna’s heart. Someone was just as excited about anime as she was? And that someone was Ayumu? Ayumu, the prettiest, loveliest—

They were still holding hands. Her hands were so warm. The warmth felt… comfortable. Setsuna finally let herself be happy with this turn of events. She smiled at Ayumu and nodded.

“Then let’s not waste any more time!” Setsuna said. Reluctantly, she took her hands out of Ayumu’s so she could pack up her things. It only took a few moments, and once finished, she turned back to Ayumu. “Ready! I’ll just need to call my parents and let them know, but I can do that on the way.”

“Perfect!” Ayumu said. “Just follow me, and we’ll get there in no time.” 

Then Ayumu once again reached out and took Setsuna’s hand, leading the other girl out of the room. And once again, Setsuna thought her brain would shut off. She thought about telling Ayumu that she’d been to Yuu’s before, so she knew the way, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to. 

She let herself be led along, all the while feeling the warmth in her hand spread throughout her whole body. 

##########

Ayumu opened the door to her family’s apartment and gestured for Setsuna to follow. 

“I’m home,” Ayumu called, taking her shoes off.

“Pardon the intrusion,” Setsuna muttered, following suit. 

“It’ll just be us for a while, so please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like any tea?”

“N-no, thank you.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time!” Ayumu said, once again grabbing Setsuna’s hand and leading her deeper into the apartment. Ayumu opened a door, and Setsuna got her first look at her friend’s room. 

Honestly, it was exactly the kind of room Setsuna had imagined Ayumu having. N-not that she’d thought about being in Ayumu’s room often! But the pastel pink walls really fit her aesthetic, and the whole room just had a sort of warmth to it. Strangely, though, there was no TV in here. How would they watch the show?

Ayumu must have noticed her looking around. “I don’t have a TV, so I just figured we’d use your laptop and watch on the bed.”

Setsuna had to fight down a blush. Sitting on Ayumu’s bed? With Ayumu? She didn’t trust herself to speak right then, so she simply nodded. Ayumu smiled and hopped on her bed, sitting cross legged. She patted the spot next to her, and it took Setsuna a moment to get her legs to work.

Once they were situated together on the bed (their knees were almost touching, and Setsuna really tried not to focus too hard on that), she pulled out her laptop and pulled up the rest of episode 16.

The next few hours passed in a blur. At some point, Ayumu had provided food, but Setsuna barely noticed.  _ Verdant Wind _ was stirring up so many emotions inside her that she had trouble keeping track of anything else. 

Episode 20 was a particularly heinous offender. It had been playing with her feelings for 20 minutes so far, and it looked poised to continue that for the full runtime.

_ “My Teacher…. Your path lies across my grave,” _ the antagonist said. Setsuna could already feel the tears stinging in the corners of her eyes as the emotional music swelled.  _ “It is time for you to find the courage to walk it. If I must fall… let it be by your hand.” _ On screen, the female protagonist’s grip tightened on her sword.  _ “I wanted to be the one… to walk with you—” _ Everything cut to black as the protagonist’s sword came down, and the episode ended. 

Setsuna choked back a sob. It was such a bittersweet scene. The two had been friends, but in the end, they hadn’t been able to reconcile their differences. Even through the war, Setsuna had hoped, but it wasn’t meant to be. She sniffled and felt tears roll down her cheeks.

Warmth suddenly surrounded her, along with a gentle pressure. Setsuna opened her eyes and saw that Ayumu had moved behind her. And she was? Hugging her? Ayumu was hugging her? 

“Shhh, it’s ok,” Ayumu whispered, resting her chin on Setsuna’s shoulder. “Yuu and I were both wrecks when this episode aired.”

“I just, I’d hoped Edelgard would see reason,” Setsuna said. “That she’d see she and Claude had similar goals. And, and when she called Byleth ‘My Teacher’ one last time, my heart broke.”

The two sat there for a while. Ayumu still had her arms wrapped around Setsuna’s stomach, and the gentle pressure did wonders to calm Setsuna’s frayed emotions. It wasn’t until almost ten minutes later that Setsuna’s brain realized just how… intimate their position was. Her cheeks, originally red from crying, stayed red from the blush that settled in. But… she didn’t want Ayumu to move.

A few minutes later, Ayumu let go and moved back to her original spot of her own accord. She playfully bumped Setsuna’s shoulder with her own and said, “Feeling good enough to keep going? We just have one more before the finale.”

Setsuna just nodded, and they continued watching.

An hour later, and the finale was reaching its climax. The two protagonists were facing off in one final battle against the surprise final antagonist that had been revealed in the previous episode. 

_ “You lack the courage to challenge me in lone combat,” _ the ultimate antagonist said, his voice sending a shiver down Setsuna’s spine.

_ “Yet we have the strength to scale the walls between us,” _ the male protagonist said, charging up his power shot.  _ “To reach out our hands in friendship, so we can open our true hearts to one another! That’s how we win!” _

Setsuna and Ayumu both gasped, and they each grabbed the other’s hand without even thinking about it. The finale’s climax continued to play out, and the two girls huddled closer together, not daring to take their eyes off the screen.

As the end credits rolled, Setsuna realized there were, once again, tears rolling down her cheeks. She heard Ayumu sniffle and looked over, seeing the other girl in a similar state. 

“Oh, that was everything I wanted it to be,” Ayumu said, sniffling again. She looked over at Setsuna and smiled. “I loved the manga’s ending, and seeing it animated and hearing the voice acting made it feel so much more impactful.”

“When Claude talked about opening your true hearts to one another, I got goosebumps all over,” Setsuna said. “I couldn’t help but think about everyone in the school idol club. How even though we usually perform solo, our connections with each other give us the strength to always do better. And every time I do open my heart to one of you, I always get this floaty, wonderful feeling.”

Setsuna stopped her rambling, partly because she realized she  _ was _ rambling, but even more so because she became aware of an unfamiliar sensation. Looking down, she saw Ayumu idly rubbing her thumb along the back of her hand. Looking back up, Setsuna came face to face with one of the most gentle smiles she’d ever seen. The entire situation brought a light blush to Setsuna’s cheeks.

“Well I’m glad you opened your heart to me tonight,” Ayumu said. “I had no idea how invested you got in anime and manga, but seeing it first hand has been very endearing. You’re really cute when you get excited.”

Setsuna’s blush exploded, and she covered her face with her free hand. “Ayumuuuuuu,” she whined. “You can’t just say something like that!” 

Ayumu just laughed, but that very quickly turned into a yawn. Setsuna couldn’t help but yawn back. The late hour, coupled with the pure emotional rollercoaster known as  _ Verdant Wind _ , had left Setsuna feeling drained.

“Maybe we should go to sleep,” Ayumu said, rubbing her eyes.

“That’s a good idea.” Setsuna paused and looked around the room. “Where do you keep your futon?”

“Normally it’s in the hall closet, but Yuu hasn’t given it back from when she borrowed it last week. I just figured we could share my bed! If that’s okay with you.”

Setsuna stopped completely. Sh-share… a bed? With Ayumu? Ayumu had just invited her to share a bed? To sleep with h— _ no, Setsuna, that’s not what she meant. _

“Th-that’s fine with me,” Setsuna said, very proud that she mostly kept her voice steady. 

The next few minutes blurred together. Some part of her brain had shut off earlier, and it hadn’t turned back on yet. And so she went through the motions of getting ready for bed, idly noticing the wide smile on Ayumu’s face, or the bounce in her step. 

Finally, Setsuna stood in front of Ayumu’s bed. Ayumu was already under the covers, sort of up against the wall. She patted the portion of bed next to her, and Setsuna finally took the metaphorical plunge.

The softness was the first thing she noticed. Ayumu’s sheets were so incredibly soft, and the fabric felt heavenly against her fingers. The second thing she noticed was the warmth. The covers themselves were warm enough, but there was a much more… pressing heat radiating from next to her. Setsuna turned on her side to face Ayumu, and the same smile was still on her friend’s face. The heat concentrated on Setsuna’s cheeks.

“I’m really happy you agreed to come over tonight,” Ayumu said, reaching out and taking hold of one of Setsuna’s hands under the covers. “I had a lot of fun.”

“I-I did, too,” Setsuna said, forcing herself to keep eye contact. 

Ayumu leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, and Setsuna swore her heart skipped at least three beats. 

“I know I said it earlier, but it made me so happy that you opened your heart to me.”

“My heart was yours to begin with,” Setsuna whispered.

Both girls’ eyes widened.

In the frozen silence, Setsuna wished she could just disappear. She’d stopped breathing, and she was almost certain her heart had also stopped.

“Do you really mean that?” Ayumu whispered back. Their faces were so close that Setsuna could feel her friend’s breath dance across her lips. All the new, unfamiliar sensations muddled her brain, lowering any barriers she may have otherwise put up.

“…Yes.”

Another new sensation was added to the list. Warm, soft, and over much too soon. For a moment, Setsuna was sure she imagined it, but the lingering feeling of Ayumu’s lips against hers proved otherwise. 

Ayumu had just… kissed her.  _ Ayumu had just kissed her _ . 

Without another thought, Setsuna leaned forward and stole a kiss for herself. 

“Ayumu, I really like you,” Setsuna said, swept up in the momentum of the moment. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“…Yes.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a simple "oh no, there's only one bed" fic, and then it turned into... all of this. Originally the anime was only going to be the setup device to get Setsuna to sleep over, but then I got really invested in the two of them finding a shared passion for this series (which, kudos to you if you get what I based this fake anime on). And then I barely had any content involving the one bed, lol. Sometimes you start a fic with one idea, and it just decides to go somewhere completely different. Still happy with it, though. I hope y'all enjoyed it!


End file.
